Teachers and Governing Council

Governing Council:

In order to facilitate ease of communication and effective decision-making, a council has been formed for our center, and each council member strives to work for the benefit of our entire community. Each role is served by a volunteer, for a term of three years.

Please feel free to reach out to any of us if you are interested in volunteering for the center or have any ideas, concerns or suggestions. You can reach any of us via our general email address: westchester.shambhala@gmail.com or via individual email addresses below.

Alice Goguen Hunsberger is the Shambhala Center Director, responsible for creating a warm and welcoming environment, and ensuring that Shambhala Vision radiates throughout all the practices, activities and community life of the centre. Alice also heads up communications and membership coordination for the Shambhala Center, including the newsletter, social media, website, and database administration. Please feel free to contact Alice with any general ideas or concerns about the center or the community, or if you would like to offer help with communications, the database, or membership coordination. You can reach Alice here.

Melania Wilson represents The Culture and Decorum office, and is responsible for the forms, rituals, protocols, symbols and physical spaces in Shambhala. The basis of Shambhala culture & decorum is that we see ordinary moments as opportunities to practice our principles by creating beauty, hosting others, marking occasions and extending awareness into simple tasks. Please feel free to contact her if you’re interested in signing up for our Kado (flower arranging) rota, or to help with cultural events (such as movie nights or community celebrations) westchester.shambhala@gmail.com

Chris Carbo is the Director of The Office of Societal Health and Well-being, which holds as its motto the Sakyong’s command that Shambhala be “more like life and less like school”. To this end, the Office works to develop engaged, kind communities, and improve interpersonal communications. In many Shambhala Centers, the Office of Societal Health and Well-Being is also the umbrella for a number of ongoing community working groups, such as the working group on Aging, Accessibility and Disability, Diversity, Families and Children, and Touching the Earth, as well as programs like Heart of Recovery. If you’re interested in forming any of these committees in our own center, please contact the Director of Health and Wellness: Chris Carbo

Julia Davidson is the Chagdzö, or Head of Finance, for West Chester. The Chagdzo makes sure that our center is financially stable and responsible. They work to help set course prices, balance budgets, apply our generosity policy, make purchases for the center, and advise on any projects that need financial assistance. If you would like to attend a course or program and the price is a concern for you, please contact Dan to discuss our generosity policy. It is important to us that anyone who is interested in our classes is able to attend, regardless of their financial situation. You can contact her here: westchester.shambhala@gmail.com

Teachers:

Jay Lippman is the Senior Teacher for the West Chester Shambhala Center. He communicates the vision and teachings of Shambhala, bringing the wisdom of the Sakyong to our center. He also mentors the governing council and other Shambhala teachers and guides in our center, and was the founder of our group.

Jay has been a student and practitioner of Shambhala for over 40 years.